Eurasia Press & News
The Croatian authorities claim to be fighting corruption and reforming the judiciary, but they will have to do more before joining the EU, European Voice says.
Croatia has less of a culture of corruption than some old EU member states, according to its justice minister. “At the moment there is no one in Croatia who could feel safe being involved in corrupt activity,” Ivan Šimonovic told European Voice last week. Just days earlier, the European Commission’s latest progress report on Croatia had noted that “corruption remains prevalent in many areas”. So who is right?
Vesna Pusic, leader of the centre-left opposition Croatian People’s Party (HNS), said that corrupt officials now enjoyed “less political shielding from the highest levels of government” than under Ivo Sanader, who stepped down as prime minister in July. Sanader’s hand-picked successor, Jadranka Kosor, is far more determined to fight graft and the mob, Pusic suggested.
